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Updated: Feb 9, 2026
Phase Transitions and Effect of Intermolecular Forces
A glimpse of structural biology through X-ray crystallography
1Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences and School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Abstract:
Since determination of the myoglobin structure in 1957, X-ray crystallography, as the anchoring tool of structural biology, has played an instrumental role in deciphering the secrets of life. Knowledge gained through X-ray crystallography has fundamentally advanced our views on cellular processes and greatly facilitated development of modern medicine. In this brief narrative, I describe my personal understanding of the evolution of structural biology through X-ray crystallography-using as examples mechanistic understanding of protein kinases and integral membrane proteins-and comment on the impact of technological development and outlook of X-ray crystallography.
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